1 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one man running, and he asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?1
2 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.
3 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not; Honour thy father and mother.
4 And he answered and said unto him, Teacher, all these things I observed from my youth.
5 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.
6 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
7 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven.
8 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into heaven.
9 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into heaven.
10 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
11 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible to enter heaven, except with the grace of God.
12 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
13 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for helping me in the way of God.2
14 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sister, and mothers, and children, and lands, and in the world to come eternal life.3
15 And one day James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.
16 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?
17 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
18 But Jesus said unto them, What if I am delivered unto the chief priests and the scribes and they condemn me to death?4
19 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.
20 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them,
21 But so shall it not be among you: but whatsoever will be great among you, shall be your servant.
22 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest shall be slave of all.5
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Notes
- Mark 10:17-30. ↩
- Cf. Qur’an 3:52. ↩
- This saying of Jesus, which Mark 10:30 “corrects” by the awkward addition of “with persecutions” (obviously in order to take account of the fact that Christians faced persecutions rather than hundredfold increase in possessions), promises a twofold reward to those who followed Jesus: one “now in this time” and one in “the world to come.” It is clear that the first refers to the messianic kingdom (which Jesus cautiously hoped to bring about) and the other to the heavenly existence after the end of history. The distinction made by Jesus between the two was also made by others (e.g., in the Book of Enoch—200-95 B.C.), but some tended to ignore it, as did the Christian tradition. ↩
- Mark 10:35-41. Jesus no doubt was fully aware of the possibility that he might completely fail as the Messiah. This is why he did not openly declare himself as the Messiah. The request by James and John shows, however, that his disciples were not as sober in their hopes as their master and regarded the establishment of the messianic kingdom under Jesus as something more or less guaranteed. Sometimes Jesus might have allowed the disciples this certainty about his success as the Messiah, but sometimes it seems to have alerted him and prompted him to remind them of the obvious possibility that Roman and Jewish authorities might take him for a rebel and put him to death. Prophecies by Jesus about his own crucifiction (Mark 10:33) seem to have originated from such reminders. ↩
- Mark 10:41-44. ↩